(Photo: RTXKarting.com)

The first tickets to the 2022 Rotax Grand Finals were presented to five drivers following the final two rounds of competition for the RTX Karting Rotax Winter Trophy program. Round Three and Four of the series was held at the Orlando Kart Center in Orlando, Florida on the February 4-6 weekend, welcoming over 50 drivers that represented 12 different nations. Weather was an issue at the opening event with colder temperatures and rain hitting the circuit. The second event was dry and a bit warmer, however, not that typical Florida weather expected.

A unique format for the championship, which awarded a ticket to the champion in the five categories to the 2022 RMCGF in Portimao, Portual, with Round Three award a 50% bonus for each on-track session. That made for exciting drama on Championship Sunday where five drivers earned the top prize, representing four different countries.

Masters Max champion Antonio Pizzonia (Photo: RTXKarting.com)

“After several years, Rotax is back on and we are thrilled about that!” stated Esteban Del Rio of RTX Karting and Grid 14 USA. “Hosting the first event, all around the globe, that awards Rotax Grand Finals tickets was a true honor and we are convinced that the opportunity is going to grow in more valuable in the future. We are excited to build on this great foundation for the Rotax Winter Trophy, as we look to improve with each event. We are now pleased to assure that in 2022, there will be a lot of Rotax action and that the Winter Trophy is here to stay”

One of the most notable names to win a ticket to the 2022 Rotax Grand Finals was Antonio Pizzonia. The Brazilian is a former Formula One and IndyCar driver that began his motorsports career in karting back in the early 1990s. Pizzonia entered the weekend leading the points in the Masters Max standings after two runner-up results at the opening event. Saturday’s performance was perfect for Pizzonia as he swept the qualifying, heat races and main event. Former F1 star and Rotax Grand Finals starter Rubens Barrichello (BRA) won the battle for second ahead of Mundy Loyer (PER). Pizzonia set fast time in qualifying to begin Sunday and won the opening heat. Barrichello was able to beat Pizzonia for the win in Heat #2. Barrichello was able to grab the lead for the second half of the Final and cross the line first, only to be penalized for a pushback bumper. That promoted Pizzonia to the top of the podium for the race. Harold Watson (PER) was classified second with Loyer in third. The two wins kept Pizzonia on the top step of the championship standings with the RMCGF ticket, ahead of Barrichello and Loyer.

Senior Max champion Eduardo Barrichello (Photo: RTXKarting.com)

Brazil was able to grab two tickets to the 2022 Rotax Grand Finals with the second event performance by Eduardo Barrichello, the son of Rubens Barrichello. The 2020 Cooper Tires US F2000 Championship runner-up was able to sweep the Round Three Senior Max action. Barrichello came into the second weekend third in the point standings. The perfect score on Saturday was capped off by a 0.250-second victory ahead of Round Two winner and point leader Cameron Weinberg (USA) with Aidan Fox (USA) in third. That narrowed the points gap to only 19.5 between Weinberg and Barrichello.

Momentum carried over to Sunday as Barrichello set fast time in qualifying by three tenths and won the opening heat. He fell to third in Heat #2 as Weinberg – who crashed hard in Heat #1 – jumped up to the win, bringing Fox with him. Barrichello led the opening three laps of the Final until Weinberg took over. He led the remainder of the 17-lap race to cross the line as the provisional winner. He would be classified third suffering a five-second penalty for a pushback bumper. That promoted Fox to the top of the podium and put Barrichello into the second spot. The penalty cost Weinberg not only the victory, but the RMCGF ticket as Barrichello finished on top of the standings by only half a point. Fernando Barrichello (BRA) ended up finishing third in the final standings.

Junior Max champion Jorge Ortiz (Photo: RTXKarting.com)

As we saw at the opening event, the Junior Max division was swept on the weekend. This time it was Gaston Irazu of Uruguay. The perfect performance on Saturday was a victory over Aidan Lourenco (USA) with two-time winner Jorge Ortiz (USA) in the third position. Sunday was much of the same as Irazu cleared the field by over three tenths in qualifying. The heat races were wins by five seconds and two seconds before he established a nine-second advantage in the 17-lap Final for his second victory of the weekend. Ortiz was able to win the battle for second ahead of Lourenco. That gave Jorge the points he needed to maintain the top spot in the standings and earn the RMCGF ticket. Irazu missed by 6.5 points with Lourenco completing the championship podium in third.

The third driver to double up on the weekend in the win column was Carson Weinberg (USA), who did not compete in the opening event in January. Championship leader and Round Two winner Salvador dell Vecchia (VEN) was the driver to beat for much of the day on Saturday. He set fast time in qualifying and won both heat races. It would end up being Weinberg that came out on top in the Final, beating out Salvador for the victory with Felipe Benito (DOM) in third.

Mini Max champion Salvador della Vecchia (Photo: RTXKarting.com)

Benito had his best performance over the four rounds in qualifying on Sunday, setting fast time by nearly two tenths. Qualifying fourth was Round One winner Kai Johnson (USA), who fought his way forward for the win in Heat #1. Heat #2 was the return of Weinberg to the point, edging out della Vecchia by 94 thousandths at the line for the win. The two showed the way in the Final, with leading majority of the laps to claim his second victory of the weekend. Salvador settled for second with Benito once again on the podium in third. Salvador della Vecchia was able to claim the RMCGF ticket by 42.5 points over Johnson with Marco Romero (VEN) third in the final championship standings.

The weekend in Micro Max was a two-driver duel between championship leader Julian Rivera (ECU) and Justin Di Lucia (CAN), with neither having won at the opening event. Di Lucia set fast time in qualifying and the two drivers split the wins in the heat races. In the Final for Saturday, Di Lucia took the lead on the final lap, however, Rivera was able to make a pass in the final corners for the victory with Round Two winner Alexis Baillargeon (CAN) in third.

Micro Max champion Julian Rivera (Photo: RTXKarting.com)

Only 55 thousandths quicker gave the bonus point in qualifying on Sunday to Di Lucia, edging out Baillargeon with Rivera in third. Baillargeon was the driver to cross the line first in Heat #1, only to be put down to third for a contact penalty. That put Rivera to the win and Di Lucia second. The top three were nose-to-tail at the end of Heat #2 with Di Lucia leading the train across the line. The victor however was decided not only on the track, but off the track. A wild start that included Di Lucia and Baillergeon spinning allowed Antonio Pizzonia (BRA) to take over the lead on the opening lap with the young driver showing the way for two circuits until Rivera took over. From there, Rivera led the remainder of the race for the provisional victory. A jump start penalty however would take the win away from Rivera and classify him in the third position. That promoted Di Lucia, who fought back to cross the line second, to the top of the podium with Pizzonia in second. Despite the penalty in the Final, Rivera earned enough points to secure the championship and the RMCGF ticket by nine points over Di Lucia as Baillargeon ended up third.

The first five 2022 Rotax Grand Finals tickets worldwide have been awarded. Representatives for Brazil (Antonio Pizzonia and Eduardo Barrichello), Venezuela (Salvador della Vecchia), Ecuador (Julian Rivera), and the United States of America (Jorge Ortiz) have earned the right to compete at the ‘Olympics of Karting’ scheduled for November 19-26, in Portimao, Portugal.

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